Troll
n trolls.]] Trolls are a humanoid race of aliens that appear in both Homestuck and Hiveswap, originating from the planet Alternia, which exists in a separate universe to Earth. In Homestuck, they were introduced at first as a group of twelve internet trolls, who often bothered the kids on Pesterchum before being revealed as literal trolls. These particular trolls are approximately the same age as the kids and are the protagonists of Hivebent, which is the first half of Act 5. Trolls have grey skin and dark yellow reflective sclera with black irises that fill in with their blood color as they age. They also have pointed teeth, yellow nails, black lips, and black hair. Their most noticeable features are the horns sprouting from their heads, which resemble candy corn (i.e. red-orange bottoms, progressing gradually to yellow at the tips). These horns can grow in a number of different shapes, sizes, and even numbers, and are usually fairly distinct between individuals. An individual troll may possess one of several different colors of blood spread across the color spectrum. This is known as the Hemospectrum, and it is the basis of a stratified societal caste system that assigns social status based on blood; low ranking trolls are regarded as "Lowbloods", whereas high ranking trolls are referred to as "Highbloods". Different blood castes also have differing biological aspects, such as the high psychic ability among Lowbloods, and the gills possessed by the high-blooded ruling Seadwellers. Natural lifespan also increases in line with one's rung on the Hemospectrum; rustbloods may only live for a few decades, whereas the highblooded Ancestors such as Mindfang lived for centuries, and the Condesce lived to rule the troll empire for millennia. Before maturity, trolls have dark grey irises, but these fill in with their respective blood colors as they age . This has been shown with the Condesce , but Sollux, the Ψiioniic, and possibly Mituna are an exception in both regards. Trolls' tears are also the color of their blood, but in a more diluted fashion. Young trolls have always been shown have first and last names with six letters each, while older trolls have been shown to acquire adult names or titles, typically with 8 letters, although there are exceptions, such as Marquise Spinneret Mindfang (8/9/8), the Grand Highblood (5/9) and Expatriate Darkleer (10/8 when spelled without Mindfang's quirk). Each troll , typically depicted on their clothing in some form, which is assigned from an alphabet of signs for each Hemospectrum caste. Should mutation place a troll outside the caste system (such as Kankri and Karkat Vantas) they will usually lack a sign. Certain crimes could warrant as part of the punishment. In Homestuck, the signs of the twelve main trolls became the signs of the human universe's zodiac. Each of these troll's horns reflect their sign; for example, Tavros's (♉ - Taurus) horns are massive like a bull's, and Sollux (♊ - Gemini) has two pairs. Other qualities associated with the signs have also emerged, such as Nepeta's (♌- Leo) cat-like tendencies, Karkat's (♋ - Cancer) crabbiness and Kanaya's (♍ - Virgo) helpful, motherly nature. However, trolls in Hiveswap, due to lack of Weird plot shit, have been shown to lack this, although some qualities are retained throughout castes (Such as the duality theme among goldbloods and the motherly role of jadebloods.) In the run up to the release of Hiveswap: Act 2, What Pumpkin released an "extended zodiac" of additional signs, representing at least part of the larger alphabet of troll signs used on Alternia. The full list of these can be found here. Additionally, one's own extended zodiac sign can be determined using an official personality test, which also incorporates determinations of one's Aspect and lunar sway (dream self's moon). Prior to the main events of Homestuck and Sburb, the Sgrub trolls pester Jade Harley for years and force John to change his Pesterchum handle. Some of the trolls are very bad at trolling; Tavros becomes so freaked out with Dave's sick fantasies that he blocks Dave, rather than the other way around. Eventually, the trolls inadvertently form a friendship with the kids. The twelve main post-scratch trolls have online handles tied to the Greek zodiac and DNA nucleobases. Adding their abbreviated trolltags to GG, GT, TG, and TT makes the 16 possible two-letter names from the letters A, C, G, and T, the four nucleobases of DNA, which corresponds with ectobiology. Individual trolls History Pre-scratch Beforus Prior to the scratch, the trolls were a peaceful race, living on the ironically named planet Beforus, with no need for constant violence and war. The species had a caste system where the higher caste trolls would aid and care for the lower (and more populous) castes. The heiress to the Beforan throne, Meenah Peixes, ran away from her duties and hid on the moon where she found a game. Just before the destruction of their race, she and eleven other trolls, inspired by the legacies of their Ancestors, played the game. Beforan Sgrub session The pre-scratch trolls were unprepared for the difficulties of the game. A lack of leadership and the presence of sabotage, as well as copious amounts of romantic drama, caused them to fail their session. Unbeknownst to them, their session was affected by a glitch caused by [[Lord English|